Geisha, Madame Butterfly, China dolls, Arabian bazaars, exotic sampans, mysterious mountain peaks----these are just some of the recurring images of Asia, or "the Orient," in the European and American popular imagination. The place of Europe's oldest, richest colonies and the U.S. military adventures and territorial expansions, Asia has become not only an integral part of the imperial West's material culture and civilization but also its exotic, mysterious, feminine, and ultimately inferior Other. A persistent critic of the Western supremacist ideologies has been Edward Said, who refers to the West's imperialist and masculinist constructions of the East as Orientalism, a set of terms, ideas, and principles that contain and control the Otherness of the Orient. In what ways has the colonial West's conceptualization of the East persisted or changed in contemporary cinema since Said's epochal critique over four decades ago? How has Said's notion of Orientalism been extended and modified in postcolonial and postcolonial feminist film studies? How is the Orientalist discourse reproduced, complicated, and challenged in Western and Eastern film? In what ways do race, gender, and nation intersect in Orientalist cinematic narratives? In what specific historical and geopolitical contexts do cinematic texts portray (anti-) Orientalist images and visions of Asia? In what ways are such inquiries relevant or urgent as we negotiate the complex relations between women and men as well as the East and the West in today's cultural and geopolitical contexts? In this course, we will explore these key critical questions and understand film as an important cultural, as well as art, form for the production, dissemination, and critique of Western European and American knowledge about genders, sexualities, and nations. Prerequisites: NONE

African American history from the beginning of the African Diaspora to the present. Prerequisites: None.

A course that examines major issues in the history of the Asian American experience from the middle of the 19th century to present. Prerequisites: None

The course offers a study of selected fictional, cinematic, and other texts by Asian American and Asian immigrant writers and filmmakers in the United States. We will examine the ways in which Asian Americans and immigrants of diverse ethnicities negotiate dominant White constructions of the Asian/American cultural and psychological divides, (re)imagine Asian American self-identities, and claim citizenship and belonging. At the same time, we will appreciate Asian American literary texts for the beauty and power of their language and storytelling and their universal appeal to our hearts and imagination.

This course offers a study of selected novels, short stories, and essays by African American women writers in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Emphasizing the intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality, and informed by critical studies of race and ethnicity and Black feminist criticism, we will explore the following main questions: What are the major themes and issues in Black women's literature? What textual strategies do African American women writers employ to represent Blackness, womanhood, and Black womanhood? In what ways do these writers challenge or accommodate dominant discourses of race, gender, class, and sexuality? What does it mean to be a Black feminist reader, and what does it mean for non-Black and/or non-female readers to interpret Black women's writings? Prerequisites: Completion of W Tag or ENG 110 

This course is an exploration of the methods, concepts, and experiences of feminism as it is practiced all over the world in different ways. The historical development and cultural mappings of feminism since the second wave will be our main concern, but we will maintain specificity by focusing on particular locations, and on locational concerns. Feminist theorists from a variety of disciplines including philosophy, literature, political science, history and sociology will provide groundwork for our explorations, which will be filled out through case studies, historical texts and literary narratives. Prerequisites: W tag and ENG 280 or ENG 281.

This course will examine a range of scenes of slavery as depicted in literary fiction, period accounts, historical documentation, photography and other imagery, and critical theory. This range of texts and images will reveal the lived experiences of slaves across time periods and different geographic locations. We will examine how slaves were transported to the Americas (particularly North America), how their enslavement was achieved materially and psychologically, how their bodies were treated and abused, how they were viewed by sympathizers and opponents of slavery, how the idea of slavery figured in debates about the establishment of the new United States, how they revolted and rebelled and how these rebellions were quashed, how they were controlled through legal and cultural circumscription, how they sought control of their own circumstances and destinies, how they sought escape and sometimes succeeded, and how they wrote accounts of their experiences in an effort to be heard. Prerequisites: ENG 110 

This class focuses on the Civil Rights and Black Power era, especially in the North. Students will also travel to various northern cities over Spring Break as part of this class as we relive this turbulent era. Prerequisites: Instructor Consent.

A survey of US social movements, with emphasis on post WWII movements. Prerequisites: None.

This course investigates the issue of immigration, border, and identities in twentieth- and twenty-first-century immigrant narratives in the United States.  Focusing on works of various genres, such as fiction, film, essays, and poetry, by primarily women writers and filmmakers of diverse ethnic and racial ancestries, we will explore these key questions: What are the major themes and issues in immigrant narratives? What does it mean to cross borders, and what are the causes, possibilities, and problems of border crossings? How are immigrants from historically marginalized racial and social groups raced, gendered, and classed? How do race and ethnicity intersect with other salient social identities such as class, gender, sexuality, religion, and nationality in immigrant experiences and identity constructions? In what ways do immigrant women and men challenge or negotiate boundaries that seek to oppress, exclude, or constrain?  In what ways do immigrant narratives challenge or accommodate the U.S. national discourse of immigrant assimilation and upward mobility? In what ways can literary and cultural studies empower us as we seek to understand the urgent issues of immigration, identity, and belonging in today's national and global contexts?  Prerequisites: W tag or ENG 110 

An in-depth exploration of an ethnic studies topic. Ethnic Studies program approval and supervision requried.  Prerequisites: consent of instructor.

An in-depth exploration of an ethnic studies topic. Ethnic Studies program approval and supervision required. Prerequisites: consent of instructor.

The seminar integrates advanced research and community-based learning, focusing on selected themes or issues in ethnic studies. Synthesizing the goals of the major and minor, the course applies integrative approaches to the development of multicultural understanding. For two-session topics, students must complete both semesters to satisfy the ETHS 480 requirement. Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of the instructor.

This course provides an inclusive, multicultural introduction to art of North America, with emphasis on ways that art is related to the historical, social, and cultural contexts in which it is created. Rather than attempting to consider all of the art produced over this long span of time, we will focus on particular aspects of American art, foremost among these the visual manifestations of the cross-cultural encounters between diverse peoples as central to the history of art of this continent. We will consider the relationships between American art and European art, and visual art and material culture as the expressions of particularly "American" identities by American artists and craftspeople of various ethnicities. Our study will emphasize the historical and cultural contexts in which this diversity of art has been produced. We consider such questions as: How have the social dynamics of race and ethnicity, along with gender and class, shaped the experiences of American artists and their audiences at various historical moments since pre-contact through the modern period? How do artists' social positions inform their artistic responses to questions of modernity? What does art by artists of diverse ethnicities tell us about the historic and contemporary experiences of various cultural groups in the US? As well as exploring movements in art of North America and the work of individual artists of various ethnicities, this course introduces the students to methodological and theoretical issues underlying the study of art in North America, and ways that consideration and critical analysis of multiple disciplinary and social perspectives can enrich our understanding of this art. Readings, class discussions, group inquiry projects, and other assignments will emphasize the development of reflective, creative, and critical approaches to the study of visual art.   

This course provides an inclusive, multicultural introduction to 20th- and 21st-century art of the US, with emphasis on ways that art is related to the historical, social, and cultural contexts in which it is created. We consider such questions as: How have the social dynamics of race and ethnicity, along with gender and class, shaped the experiences of American artists and their audiences at various historical moments during the past hundred years? How do artists' social positions inform their artistic responses to questions of modernity? What does art by artists of diverse ethnicities tell us about the historic and contemporary experiences of various cultural groups in the US? As well as exploring movements in art of the US and the work of individual artists of various ethnicities, this course introduces the students to methodological and theoretical issues underlying the study of modern and contemporary art in the US, and ways that consideration and critical analysis of multiple disciplinary and social perspectives can enrich our understanding of this art. Readings, class discussion, group inquiry projects, and other assignments will emphasize the development of reflective, creative, and critical approaches to the study of visual art. Prerequisites: None

In this course we will focus on the theories, ethics, and issues related to counseling within a multicultural context. Working effectively with diverse clients requires self-awareness, the skills for successful interaction, and knowledge of information specific to various cultures/populations, and the ability to engage in a relationship with those from other cultures/populations. Implications of cultural ethnic, geographic, and sexual diversity are considered as they relate to developing a multicultural perspective in studying and understanding human behavior, as well as its application in professional settings. Prerequisites: PSY 101 or consent of the instructor.

This course provides an introduction to North American Indian art and to the broader questions underlying its study. Beginning with the question "What is Native American art?" we will explore ways that Indians and non-Indians in the past have viewed Native American art, and how this art is seen today. As we look at art from various regions of what is now the United States, we will look at pre-contact Native American art, the changes that came about with the arrival of Europeans to this continent, and post-contact Native American art, with particular consideration of the impacts on this art of encounters between Indian and non-Indian peoples. Finally, we will examine 20th and 21st century Native American art and the issues raised by the intersections of Indian and non-Indian arts and cultures that have taken place since the turn of the 20th century. Throughout this course we will address issues of art historical approach and method raised by the study of encounters among diverse peoples in North America, and the dynamics of continuity and change in American Indian art. We will give particular attention to indigenous perspectives on Native art as we study the writings of Native American scholars, artists, and those whose lived experiences provide a basis for their insight and knowledge. Students in this writing-enriched course will be expected to write informal responses to issues raised in this class, reflections on course readings, films, and works of art considered in class, and a substantive formal research paper. Prerequisites: ENG 110 

The term passing refers to the disguises of elements of an individual's presumed "natural" or "essential" identities, such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and/or class. In this course, we will study selected works of various genres (fiction, memoir, and film) which narrate and negotiate acts of passing or reverse passing. We will examine the ways in which American writers and filmmakers from diverse ancestries imagine the possibilities of passing while grappling with its complexities and limitations. The course explores the following key critical questions: What motivates passing, and what are the possibilities, consequences, and limitations of passing? What are the similarities and differences between passing and cultural appropriation? In what ways do passing narratives destabilize the binaries of White/non-White, man/woman, and authenticity/counterfeit while questioning the “absoluteness” of identity categories? In what ways does passing remain relevant in today's U.S. cultural and sociopolitical contexts? Prerequisites: ENG 110  Cross-listed: ENG 443A 

This course examines the philosophical questions raised by criminal law. This course will examine how various philosophers and social theorists have justified criminal punishment. We will pay special attention to how liberal democratic societies reconcile commitments to individual liberty with practices of confinement. We will connect this study to moral, political, and experiential reflections on mass incarceration, especially as they relate to racial, sexual, and class hierarchies in the US. This course will include a community learning project. Prerequisites: None

This course will examine philosophical analyses of race, considering a range of views from race as a biological feature of individuals to race as a social construction and hence a political issue. We will consider whether (and how) notions of race relate to practices of racism, asking both ethical questions (how should people of different races be viewed and treated?) and metaphysical questions (what IS race?). Would a just world be one which has gotten "beyond" race, or would that ideal perpetuate a dangerous desire for sameness? Prerequisites: NONE

This course engages students in an analysis of historical and contemporary experiences of race and ethnicity in the United States as influenced by changing migration trends and economic developments. Special consideration is given to the social construction of racial categories; issues of whiteness; and multiracial identity.

This course introduces the critical study of race and ethnicity in the United States and other parts of the world.  Using an intersectional framework, global considerations, and sociological as well as other disciplinary concepts and methods, the course guides our understanding of the history and current development of the discipline of ethnic studies; fundamental concepts and issues in ethnic studies; racial dynamics and the historical, social, and cultural experiences of historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups in the United States and around the world.  Key themes and issues include: What is ethnic studies, how has it evolved over time and in the age of migration and globalization, and why are global perspectives essential in the critical study of race and ethnicity? What is race? How have racial ideologies and racisms evolved since the beginning of European colonialism and the U.S. history? In what ways do racialized policy and institutions create and perpetuate racial inequality in education, employment, housing and wealth, the criminal justice system, health and environment, and immigration policy?  In what ways do other countries compare with the United States in racial dynamics? Finally, what are the visionary frameworks and our own roles for achieving racial justice?  Prerequisites: NONE

This course discusses a shared inquiry into the nonviolent philosophy of M.L. King and its relevance both in the Civil Rights movement and in diverse communities in the U.S. and beyond. Students will study and discuss Dr. King's writings, reflect on their own potential for helping build the "Beloved Community," and engage in relevant service learning projects such as Amnesty International, the United Nations Association, and Fair Trade Advocacy. If funds are available, we may travel to the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. Prerequisites: Completion of COR 1 or COR 199 or COR 199 in progress; two full-time semesters of college credit, excluding retro credits, AP credits, and college credit earned while in high school; completion of the T Tag or concurrent enrollment in a T Tag course.

How has the concept of race been theorized in social sciences as well as humanities?  What are the changing terms of debates over the nature of race and racism in contemporary societies?  How have scholars explored the origins of race and racism?  In what ways did racial, class, and gender hierarchies sustain colonialist ideologies and institutions? How do Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian American feminist scholars negotiate the theoretical and sociopolitical tensions between race and gender and interrogate Western colonialist and White feminist conceptualizations and methodologies in social science research?  Why is the analysis of Whiteness and White supremacy an integral part of antiracism? In what ways is our study relevant to the current moment of America's reckoning with racial justice?  This course offers an advanced study of the emergence and development of the theories of race and racism in their historical and sociopolitical contexts. By investigating some of the most influential scholarship and research from an array of disciplinary and conceptual perspectives, such as sociological theories of race and racism, postcolonial studies, Black feminism, and cultural studies, we will develop the critical frameworks for understanding race and racism as historical and contemporary issues in the United States and other parts of the globe. The course also introduces ethnic studies research agendas and strategies for effective antiracism and social change. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing and higher.

The course examines the portrayals of African Americans in Cinema/TV over the past century. Students will also become well-versed in African American history as a whole to better contextualize the films they study in the semester. In addition, the course seeks to demonstrate the continuity and change in African American history and in Hollywood's portrayal of Black people. For instance, how did African Americans respond to the depiction of Blacks in Birth of a Nation and Shaft? How (and why) has Hollywood shifted its portrayal of people of color over the years? Finally, this course will emphasize the differences between primary and secondary documents as well as the pros and cons that each may have for students of history. Prerequisites: None

A course focusing on the intersection between literature and ethnicity or Ethnic Studies. Specific versions of the course might focus on topics like the Multiethnic Graphic Novel, American Slave Narratives, or the Literature of Immigration. Prerequisites: ENG 110  or current enrollment in ENG 110

In this course we will focus on the theories, ethics, and issues related to counseling within a multicultural context. Working effectively with diverse clients requires self-awareness, the skills for successful interaction, and knowledge of information specific to various cultures/populations, and the ability to engage in a relationship with those from other cultures/populations. Implications of cultural ethnic, geographic, and sexual diversity are considered as they relate to developing a multicultural perspective in studying and understanding human behavior, as well as its application in professional settings. Prerequisites: PSY 101 J or consent of the instructor.

How do women theologians from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds understand and discuss God, Jesus, Human Beings, the Bible, Spirituality, Ecology and the Roles of Women in religion and society today? How do North American women "do theology" in their African-American, Latina, Native American, Asian-American, Euro-American and/or socio-economic contexts? What kinds of theology are women theologians in Latin America, Asia and Africa doing? In what ways do race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexuality, and nation shape the formation and development of Christian feminist theologies? From multicultural perspectives, this course explores the questions, experiences, values, concerns, and challenges that women bring to the understanding and practice of Christian faith and its implications for building a more just and compassionate world. Prerequisites: COR 1 OR COR 199 OR PERMISSION OF INSTRUCTOR